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'I Quit!' How To Handle A Resignation With Class

Jennifer Armitstead has coached more than 1,000 employees at the helm of MovingForwardSolutions.com

Several weeks ago I published an article about an executive—a professional recruiter, in fact—who’d reached the end of her rope within a terrible company culture. She resigned. But she also left the company with her unvarnished feedback in a letter she shared with me and with the rest of the world, via Forbes. The letter became famous. The article was one of the five Most Read in the Forbes Entrepreneurs channel for days.

Radio stations called. The executive, Fancy Frenchwood, has been contacted (and at press time probably also featured) on a local Seattle-based television station. Comments on the Forbes article have run soundly in her favor, applauding her for having the courage to speak up.

Privately, however, friends had cautioned her about the risks of speaking so boldly about a position she had decided to leave. I added my voice to the feedback as well: “If the company didn’t want to hear your feedback during your employment, they would be unlikely to welcome it now. What about the risks?”

Frenchwood had considered her options carefully, and chose to proceed. More on her story to come—but in the meantime, I’ve also invited several additional career experts to weigh in.

How much candid feedback should you give—if any—to an employer you are leaving?

Jennifer Armitstead, founder of Moving Forward Solutions, is a professional recruiter and career coach who consults with organizations about employee engagement. She also runs a radio show, Job Club Radio and has coached thousands of employees on career advancement (she’s also written columns for Forbes, Examiner and BlogNation).

Her advice on giving an employer hard feedback? “My rule of thumb is yes, do it, as long as you can be sure it’s productive,” Armitstead said. “My first advice, as a career coach (not knowing or being close to Frenchwood’s situation myself) is always to find a way to give the feedback—even strong feedback–during the time of employment, before you’ve emotionally reached the point of no return.”

International business coach Aprille Trupiano (photo courtesy of AprilleTrupiano.com)

She continued, “Do you have a good relationship with your immediate boss? Are you a strong and productive employee? Those are the elements that put you in a place to provide hard feedback and have it count. Granted, some bosses are entirely unapproachable, but I believe that’s an environment we’re encountering less and less.”

But if the individual is resigning? “Remember that it’s a small world,” Armitstead said. “Do you want to take the risk that this is what you’re going to come to be known for? It’s increasingly likely you will encounter your former employer again, and they may make things uncomfortable for you, directly or even indirectly,” she said.

As I speak with Armitstead I’m reminded of the recent story of Greg Smith, the VP for Goldman Sachs who famously published his scathing resignation letter a year ago (March 2012) in a New York Times OpEd, two days before releasing his opinion of Goldmans’ “toxic culture” in a national book.

As Robert Dominguez of NY Daily News reported, multiple career experts (as well as many of Smith’s former co-workers) have noted the majority of the “toxin” has now landed on Smith, who has seemingly ruined his chances for success as a job candidate at the point he next decides to go looking for work.

Said Suki Shah, co-founder of GetHired.com: “There’s certainly a red flag to any potential employer considering Mr. Smith in the future.”

John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas agreed: “It’s so tempting to leave an organization and go out with guns blazing, but my concern is that others may see this as the right way to leave.”

Here’s another perspective from Aprille Trupiano, an international business coach who specializes in supporting women entrepreneurs. She runs a radio show and two television programs as well, from her headquarters in St. Louis, Missourri. She found herself in a similar situation to Frenchwood’s some years ago and talked with me in an interview about how she made the choice to respond. Like Armitstead, her first focus in cases like these is on the process of giving feedback–and getting it heard–while still employed, hopefully before the situation has deteriorated so badly you’re operating with one foot out of the door.

“I believe you need to go up the chain,” she said. “I see too many executives speaking only to their direct supervisor, who perhaps can’t do anything about the issue, or doesn’t have the capacity (maybe doesn’t really ‘get it’) or is too afraid to speak up themselves. Speak to somebody in a position to make a change, or your remarks will be likely regarded as just complaining and gossip.”

“I work from the assumption that most companies want to be great companies, or believe that they already are great companies,” Trupiano said. “If the leadership is open, the result could be remarkable. If not–it’s kind of like that famous remark in ‘My Cousin Vinny’ – your efforts are like spinning your wheels in the mud.”

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Comments

Cheryl, this is a great follow up. I think it is important for folks to be introspective about this when they leave. I sincerely doubt my ability to articulate an objectively accurate assessment at a time as emotionally laden as my leaving a company, resulting in what would look even to me like a tirade more than a treatise. Writing that sort of letter is too dangerous for most of us. -ddt

Thanks, Devin – So many people could relate so closely to this experience I was really happy to follow the story through to its conclusion. Giving harsh feedback is treading on delicate ground, definitely, all the way round. I was so excited to hear how well everything has come out for Fancy. She’s an individual of courage, that’s for sure. Thanks for your note!